Process of dyeing silk containing textiles



June 19, 1934. F. LA QUE 1,963,137

PROCESS OF DYEING SILK CONTAINING TEXTILES Filed Dec. 31, 1930 ooooooqu OOQOIOBOQOOOO000000.0000-00009000'00 Patented June 19, 1934 ROCESS OF DYEING SILK CONTAINING"; I TEXTILES Francis Lawrence La Que, East Orange, N'. J.;as'-

signor to The International Nickel Company,- I Inc., New York, N. Y.', a corporation of Delaware Application December 31, 1930, Serial hlo. 505,693

2 Claims.

machine to give a different amount of reduction of a dyestuff like Durol black (sulphon-cyanin black, Color Index Number 307), a common dyestuff used extensively in the dyeing of silk hosiery.

Attempts have been made to overcome the nonl5 uniformity in results of the dyeing operation. Various suggestions have been proposed but no proposal has been made which remedies the shortcomings of the prior practice. conditions, it was necessary for the dyer to manipulate the dyeing formula to accommodate the peculiarities of each dyeing machine. This procedure has been unsatisfactory, has been costly and has required extensive and tedious experimentation each time a new machine was used and each time, during the life of a machine, when the peculiarities thereof have a tendency to change. This latter phenomenon has been one of common occurrence.

I havediscovered a process which overcomes the disadvantages noted hereinabove and which provides the art with a process which can be satisfactorily and readily employed for producing uniform and consistent results.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a process in which the silk gum or serecin is prevented from detrimentally affecting the dyestuff and the dyeing of the silk or other fibre with which it is associated.

It is another object of the invention to provide a process which will dye silk material with sulphoncyanin uniformly and without any material variation in the shade or depth of color of the dyed material and to provide a machine for carrying this process into practice.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken into conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a dyeing machine embodying the present invention; and

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of Fig. 1.

Generally speaking, the present invention contemplates maintaining a suflicient concentration or supply 'of oxygen in the dyeing bath to prevent reduction of the dyestuff, such as sulphon- Under these (Cl. 8-5) a I cyanin, by the serecinor silk gum, or other substances present in the dyeing vat. In practice, it is preferred to introduce oxygen bymeans of bubbling; blowing or otherwise causing air to be brought into the dyeing bath and to agitate the latter to eifectsubstantially uniform distribution of the air throughout the dyeing bath. When this procedure has been followed, -it has been found that the dyeing operations such as the dyeing of hosiery with sulphoncyanin, can be. carried out satisfactorily and can be effected so as to produce silk or hosiery dyed to the proper shade or depth of color...

The foregoing procedure can .be conveniently and satisfactorily carried into practice by the use of-a dyeingmachine such as illustrated in the drawing. n

Referring more particularly to Fig. 1, the reference character 10 designates an outer drum, preferably of cylindrical construction and mounted upon side frames 11. This side frame may be of any suitable construction but as herein shown beingconstituted voftwo upright, members 12 and a bottom cross member 13. The upperpart I of outer drum 10 is provided with asliding door 14 which. can be opened when textiles such as silk material or silk socksare'introduced into the drumor when inspection is made and closed when the dyeingmachine is in operation.

Within-out; drum 10, is mounted an inner 8 cylinder 15 of open character;. This cylinder may be supported for r ation in any suitable manner as by means of stub shaft 16 extending through each end of the dyeing machine as one skilled in the art will readily understand. As the construction of the inner cylinder is well known, it will not be necessary to give a detailed description thereof. It is suflicient to state that the inner cylinder is so constructed that textiles such as silk hosiery can be introduced into and taken from the cylinder in any suitable manner. The inner cylinder is driven by a prime mover such as an electrical motor 17 through any suitable driving mechanism. In the present instance, .a train of driving gears are employed. For instance, gear 18 on the motor drives an intermediary gear 19, which in turn drives a gear 20 that is keyed or otherwise suitably secured to shaft 16. These gears are preferably housed in a gear guard 21. The driving mechanism may be arranged to drive the inner cylinder continuously in one direction or can be arranged to periodically alternate the rotation of the cylinder.

At one end of the dyeing machine a valved steam line 22 is connected to the outer drum for reduction of the dyestufi can be introducing steam into the dyeing machine to maintain the dyeing bath at a proper or suitable temperature. Preferably adjacent to the steam line is a pipe 23 which conducts solutions such as degumming or dyeing or' both from supply tank 24 to the interior of the outer drum 10. A valve 25 servesto control the flow of liquid from tank 24 to drum 10. I

Arranged in operative association with the dyeing machine are means for introducing oxygen or air into the dyeing bath held in outer drum 10. Any appropriate means may be employed for effecting the introduction of oxygen or air into the dyeing bath. In the present instance, an elongated pipe 26 is provided in the outer drum 10 and preferably near the bottom thereof. This pipe is perforated and permits air oroxygen to be bubbled into the dyeing bath; An appropriate source of air or oxygen may be utilized for supplying pipe 26 with oxygen or air. For example, an air blower 2'7 is connected to pipe 26 for supplying air thereto and is driven by motor 28. A valve 29 is provided on pipeline 26 to control the amount of air being blown into the dyeing bath contained in outer drum 10.

In carrying the invention into practice, the dyeing .and degumming'bath to be employed is placed. in outer drum 10. For instance, a solution of Durol black' or' sulphoncyanin is introduced intodrum 10. The textiles or textile ma terial such as'silk hose are introduced into in ner. cylinder 15 and the dyeing machine is set into operation. The air blower is operated and a controlled amount of air is introduced into the dyeing bath. When the silk hose is properly dyed without any substantial reduction in color.

or depth of shade, the proper amount of air has been added. This test can be conducted very easily and readily before the process is started. In practice, it is preferred to saturate the solution with air or oxygen because in this manner sufficient oxygen will be present tobring about the desired results of this invention. Any excess air vor oxygen does not cause'any detrimental effects.

It has been found that in dyeing silkhose, for example, with sulphoncyanin and using'a degumming solution having a pH of about 9.3 to about 9.8,and a temperature of about 200 F. to 215 F., sufiicient air to saturate the solution with oxygen was satisfactory. By controlling the aeration device to supply suflicient oxygen or air to the dyeing bath to saturate the same, prevented under substantially any practical conditions. with my process, degumming can be efiected at the same time the silk is dyed. By introducing sufllcient air or oxygen into the degumming and dyeing bath the temperature of the latter may be increased to a suflicient degree to enable degumming to be effectively carried out. In the same way bysaturating the bath with air or oxygen, degumming solutions of higher pH values can be used with more eifective degumming.

It is preferred to construct the dyeing machine and parts thereof which come into contact with the silk and dyeing bath of such materials which are inert to the dyestufi employed for dyeing the silk. For example, it is preferred to construct the machine of a nickel-copper alloy in which the nickel 'varies from about to about and thecopper varies from about 40 to about 30%. Other appropriate metals which do not detrimentally afiect the, dyeing of silk may be employed.

Although certain preferred temperatures, pH values and oxidizing agents were mentioned,it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. oxidizing agents may be used in place of air and oxygen such as ozone or solid compounds capable of liberating oxygen and satisfactorily effecting the results described herein. e Other variations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spiritv oi the invention.

What is claimed is: i g

. 1. In the process of dyeing silk material, that improvement which comprises establishing a de gumming and dyeing about 9.3 to about 9.8 and containing Durol black, heating said bath to a, temperature in excess of about 200 F., and blowing air" into said bath to prevent the reduction of Durol black.

.2-.In the process of degumming and dyeing silk hosiery material, that improvement which comprises establishing a degumming and dyeing bath of about 9.3 to about 9.8 and containing Durolblack, heating said bath to a temperature of about 200 to about 215 F., introducing silk .hosiery material into said bath, maintaining said bath at a temperature in excess of 200 F. and blowing air into said bath to saturate the same and to prevent the reduction of Durol black, whereby the 'silk hosiery material is dyed to the proper shade.

' FRANCIS LAWRENCE LA QUE.

For instance, other appropriate'loo bath havinga pH value of 110 

